Sekong province
Like neighbouring Salavan, Sekong is very little visited, thanks to its poor road network and close to non-existent tourist infrastructure. A province of high mountains and deep river valleys, it is reputed to have stunning scenery -- but we haven't been able to see anything except the most accessible so far.
If you're planning to explore Sekong using locally-available transportation, be prepared to spend a lot of time and a lot of money. With your own motorbike or 4WD, your options are better, but still not fantastic.
Tha Teng is a small town without much going on -- really just a pit-stop along the road to Sekong or Salavan. But those looking for an off-the-beaten-track experience will find it, like nearby Paksong and Lao Ngam, utterly free of any pretensions towards being a part of the tourist industry. A stop-over in Tha Teng is a good way to get in the right mindset for a trip through the rest of southeastern Laos, and the dirt road from Tha Teng to Ban Beng passes through many road-side villages with no electricity or running water, offering a picturesque and easy-to-access look at traditional Laotian life. All this will change in the coming years -- the road is scheduled to be paved some time in 2007.
Sekong Town, the provincial capital, can be used as a base for exploring the immediate surrounds, home to a number of waterfalls and a set of rapids, but other than that, be prepared for a rather basic experience. Sekong is something of a forgotten province, and a backwater, and much of what is on offer is shrouded by poor information and the aforementioned lack of infrastructure. In other words, it's a great place to head if you're keen to blaze a trail of your own through undiscovered Laos.
